Related Publication

If you are dominated by work from the moment you arise until the =
moment you=20
turn off the lights at night, you are not alone. Years of narrow focus, =
hard=20
work, pressure, and endless striving for material reward are the =
hallmark of=20
many lawyers' lives. This newly updated and revised Second Edition is =
written=20
specifically to help lawyers achieve professional and personal =
satisfaction in=20
their career.

Management=20

The Lawyer's Guide to Balancing Life and Work

This review of "The Lawyer's Guide to Balancing Life =
and=20
Work," gives hope to the possibility that you can be happy in life and =
at work.=20
Rediscover your personal goals and motivations for practicing law by =
forming a=20
personal action plan for change. At last, you could find a work/life =
balance=20
with success and happiness.

Stress and work pressures are part and parcel of the =
practice of=20
law, and as a result, many lawyers struggle with balancing life and =
work. Most=20
lawyers acknowledge the need to do a better job of balancing life and =
work. But=20
at the same time, they say it is a real struggle to make the changes =
necessary=20
to find an appropriate balance.

If you are looking for help in finding more balance in your life, =
The=20
Lawyer's Guide to Balancing Life and Work is for you. In this book, =
George=20
W. Kaufman offers practical examples and exercises to help lawyers =
reconcile=20
their goals and expectations within the realities and demands of the =
legal=20
profession.

But Kaufman, who was a successful and seasoned partner for forty =
years at a=20
large U.S. law firm, goes beyond the usual review of steps you can take =
to=20
reduce stress. Using personal anecdotes and stories, he takes the reader =
through=20
a deep and personal journey of self-discovery.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part will help you =
trace your=20
history from childhood to your current work. This is your =
story. We are=20
all a product of our parents and our upbringing, often in ways we don't=20
appreciate and recognize. This book will help you appreciate who, why =
and what=20
makes you you, both at home and at work. This appreciation is =
the first=20
step to making changes and finding more balance in your life.

The second part of the book walks you through your story and helps =
you=20
evaluate what is good and bad about your work and habits. It will make =
you=20
reflect on what you find is positive about the practice of law and how =
the=20
practice of law affects you in negative ways. This part of the book will =
help=20
you identify the sources of stress in your life and give you tools and=20
strategies to cope with them.

The third part of the book brings it all together, and as Kaufman =
puts it,=20
asks, "How the law fits in you, not how you fit in the law." The book is =
self-empowering in that it gives you a true understanding of what really =
makes=20
you tick. You will figure out what your key personal values are and how =
to=20
prioritize them. This understanding will, in turn, help you understand =
how and=20
where you need to change, whether it means changing how you practice, =
shifting=20
your practice to something different, or leaving the law altogether. The =
last=20
chapter helps you build personal action plan for change.

Updated and revised from the first edition, this book will help new =
and long=20
term lawyers achieve better work/life balance, as well as professional =
and=20
personal satisfaction in their career. Included with this 280-page book =
is a=20
CD-ROM, which contains the exercises found in the book. It is very =
reasonably=20
priced at US$39.95.

=A9 2007 Lawyers' Professional Indemnity Company. =
This article=20
originally appeared in LAWPRO Magazine "Aging Boomers: a wakeup call for =
lawyers," Winter 2007 (Vol. 6 no. 1). It is available at www.lawpro.ca/magazinearchives